Consumer Reports does a 180 on Tesla

[NickyC]

http://www.latimes.com/business/auto...020-story.html

[RickFLM4]

Yeah, they are saying their first ratings that "broke records" were based solely on performance and driving and didn't factor in reliability. Now that reliability is factored in they no longer recommend the car. Hard to imagine anyone didn't get the impression the thought the car was reliable when they called it the best car they ever tested. Also hard to believe the reliability issues are only affecting their recommendation now.

[Mamyf30]

something fishy going on...

[Never Convicted]

More like something Musky

[RickFLM4]

Time to release another new feature to distract the media.

[pikkagtr]

Originally Posted by RickFLM4

Time to release another new feature to distract the media.

Ultra super duper stupendous knock yo mama to the floor mode ????

[RickFLM4]

Originally Posted by pikkagtr

Ultra super duper stupendous knock yo mama to the floor mode ????

Yes, but beta.

[zer0cool]

Since recommendation requires at least average reliability, even if everything else is stellar, below average reliability removes recommendation.

Bad news for Tesla today. Will see how Tesla cars' reliability measure changes as more data becomes available.

I mean there has only been like positive news, so a neg news is getting a lot of attention.

[bmw1racer]

Originally Posted by Never Convicted

More like something Musky

Haha... Very punny.

[wdb]

Anyone read R&T? Lutz is not big on Tesla either, but for different reasons.

[RickFLM4]

Originally Posted by wdb

Anyone read R&T? Lutz is not big on Tesla either, but for different reasons.

I saw that too. I agree with him on the reasons he cites and am not surprised by the quality issues noted by CR - just their timing of figuring it out.

The company is a start-up with a cult following and fantastic PR effort hitting society at exactly the right time. IMO, if they survive as a manufacturer, it will be many years before they become a mainstream, mass producer of cars.

I have long thought they would be a much better company if they licensed / sold their technology to a wide range of automakers - much like ZF with transmissions. Maybe they tried and were turned away from all but a few. Maybe they are selling cars now to prove their technology with the long-term unstated goal of being a supplier instead of a car manufacturer. Hard to tell - but it would make more sense to me if they could execute and get other manufacturers to buy from them instead of competing with them.

[David70]

Originally Posted by RickFLM4

I saw that too. I agree with him on the reasons he cites and am not surprised by the quality issues noted by CR - just their timing of figuring it out.

The company is a start-up with a cult following and fantastic PR effort hitting society at exactly the right time. IMO, if they survive as a manufacturer, it will be many years before they become a mainstream, mass producer of cars.

I have long thought they would be a much better company if they licensed / sold their technology to a wide range of automakers - much like ZF with transmissions. Maybe they tried and were turned away from all but a few. Maybe they are selling cars now to prove their technology with the long-term unstated goal of being a supplier instead of a car manufacturer. Hard to tell - but it would make more sense to me if they could execute and get other manufacturers to buy from them instead of competing with them.

Maybe but also not sure if a major manufacturer buys a Tesla and reverse engineers it if the technology is really worth what Tesla would want to sell it for. Window for doing anything may be closing as others are getting more into this market.

Some say Tesla will eventually be purchased by a major manufacturer but right now their stock price is way too high for anyone to consider it. Even Musk agrees the company is over valued.

[RickFLM4]

Originally Posted by David70

Maybe but also not sure if a major manufacturer buys a Tesla and reverse engineers it if the technology is really worth what Tesla would want to sell it for. Window for doing anything may be closing as others are getting more into this market.

Some say Tesla will eventually be purchased by a major manufacturer but right now their stock price is way too high for anyone to consider it. Even Musk agrees the company is over valued.

True, it is also possible they haven't really done anything that innovative and there is no long-term value to their technology. I agree they no longer have the lead they were once perceived to have over everyone else.

[BrokenVert]

Originally Posted by RickFLM4

Yeah, they are saying their first ratings that "broke records" were based solely on performance and driving and didn't factor in reliability. Now that reliability is factored in they no longer recommend the car. Hard to imagine anyone didn't get the impression the thought the car was reliable when they called it the best car they ever tested. Also hard to believe the reliability issues are only affecting their recommendation now.

They did this with the 135 too. It scored a 97 before the hpfp thing

[Haywood]

Originally Posted by BrokenVert

They did this with the 135 too. It scored a 97 before the hpfp thing

This is why I don't put much stock in CR when they evaluate cars since it's the same magazine that rates toasters and vacuums.

[wdb]

CR ratings don't mean much to me either. I once bought a fridge based on their recommendation; the next month they came out and said (paraphrased) 'our test regimen was flawed, nobody really stuffs the freezer full of boxes of frozen peas, the fridge you just bought is actually crap in the real world'. That same month they tested lawn tractors by seeing which one cut the best on a manicured football field - like that's anywhere near typical. They also did not take longevity into account at all, stuff like grease fittings and deck metal thickness. Something very cheap won that comparo. I let my subscription lapse and have not looked back.

[kent11202]

FWIW - my ex bought one a few months ago (I haven't seen it) and she's already had a motor(s?) replaced - no big deal it only cost around $100K

*There is a God

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by RickFLM4

I saw that too. I agree with him on the reasons he cites and am not surprised by the quality issues noted by CR - just their timing of figuring it out.

The company is a start-up with a cult following and fantastic PR effort hitting society at exactly the right time. IMO, if they survive as a manufacturer, it will be many years before they become a mainstream, mass producer of cars.

I have long thought they would be a much better company if they licensed / sold their technology to a wide range of automakers - much like ZF with transmissions. Maybe they tried and were turned away from all but a few. Maybe they are selling cars now to prove their technology with the long-term unstated goal of being a supplier instead of a car manufacturer. Hard to tell - but it would make more sense to me if they could execute and get other manufacturers to buy from them instead of competing with them.

Musk said a over a year ago he wasn't going to enforce his patents...

[RickFLM4]

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

Musk said a over a year ago he wasn't going to enforce his patents...

True that takes a pure licensing deal for existing technology off the table, but they could be a supplier of batteries and other components, like many other auto suppliers. I don't think it makes much sense manufacturing niche product cars and trying to sell them yourself with no dealer network, while competing with potential customers (other auto brands). I find it odd when the financial media compares Tesla gross margins to the rest of the industry that sells cars at wholesale prices to independent dealers, while ignoring the selling costs specific to Tesla, which has no dealer network.

Separately, I also struggle with the idea of releasing the autonomous driving software beta to the public. I hope no one gets hurt or killed: http://money.cnn.com/2015/10/23/auto...est/index.html

[NickyC]

Originally Posted by RickFLM4

Separately, I also struggle with the idea of releasing the autonomous driving software beta to the public. I hope no one gets hurt or killed: http://money.cnn.com/2015/10/23/auto...est/index.html

With the caveat that I have no idea what is going on, but just the thought of autonomous driving software pisses me the hell off. Get off your f%#*$#! phone, get off your f%#*$#! iDumbass gadgets, and just DRIVE your f%#*$#! car.

I am SO sick of this tech garbage, nearly all of which is making us ignorant and less capable of doing things on our own. I noticed a couple months back my spelling in work emails was becoming lousy, so I turned off spell check and grammar check, forcing myself to proof read my own damned emails. I'm trying to get technology out of my life as much as possible now, but these sycophant drones I see all over the place, it makes me sick. They're like little missiles in grocery stores, looking down at their dumbass gadget, bowling people over. Little hunchbacks in the making, always crying and wondering why their backs/necks hurt.

F^$# Apple and their iDumbass gadgets, and F&^$ autonomous driving software.

DECLARE FREEDOM FROM THE MACHINES!!! ROAOAOAOAOORRR!!!!

[zer0cool]

I love Tesla's autopilot (AP) function and I am very satisfied. It performs its described function really well and makes driving on the highway a much more relaxed and pleasant experience. After experiencing it, every other way of actually driving yourself long distances on a highway that exists now is inferior.

However there are sets of people who are trying to test the system's current limits, or simply not following clearly specified instructions that you must accept when you turn on AP. The AP as it's currently implemented is meant to be only for divided highways where markings are clear and that the driver should always pay full attention.

When you do that, there are no issues, and the system performs very well.

Of course there are areas that need improvements, but that's always the case when you are the innovator and doing something no one else has done or dares to do. I do hope other car companies implement similar technologies in the near future tho. The more competition, the better things become.

[pikkagtr]

Originally Posted by zer0cool

I love Tesla's autopilot (AP) function and I am very satisfied. It performs its described function really well and makes driving on the highway a much more relaxed and pleasant experience. After experiencing it, every other way of actually driving yourself long distances on a highway that exists now is inferior.

However there are sets of people who are trying to test the system's current limits, or simply not following clearly specified instructions that you must accept when you turn on AP. The AP as it's currently implemented is meant to be only for divided highways where markings are clear and that the driver should always pay full attention.

When you do that, there are no issues, and the system performs very well.

Of course there are areas that need improvements, but that's always the case when you are the innovator and doing something no one else has done or dares to do. I do hope other car companies implement similar technologies in the near future tho. The more competition, the better things become.

Ill keep the driving to my own free will thanks.
How will you feel when your autonomous car decides to veer your car off the cliff with your new wife and 1 yr old child because it is the lesser of the 2 evils, the other alternative is to run over a group of 10 blind orphaned paraplegic school girls with their equally blind puppies in their wheel chairs.